Will cooperate with ED in gold smuggling case, says Home Minister Parameshwara
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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Thursday assured full cooperation with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in its ongoing raids at the educational institutions linked to him, as part of a money laundering investigation related to an alleged gold smuggling racket.
The ED is probing alleged financial irregularities and has searched 16 locations in the state under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), targeting hawala operators and accommodation entry operators who allegedly made 'fake' financial transactions into accounts linked to gold smuggling accused and Kannada actress Ranya Rao.
According to Parameshwara, ED officials visited three institutions and a university, including Siddhartha Institute of Technology and Siddhartha Medical College, seeking financial records from the past five years.
He said he has instructed his staff to cooperate and provide all necessary information to the ED.
"As a person who believes in the law of the land, I am prepared to cooperate with whatever comes out of their verifications or searches," he said.
To a query on allegations that Rs 40 lakh from his institution's account was used to pay Ranya Rao's credit card bill, Parameshwara declined to comment, saying he would respond after the investigation is complete.
He also refrained from commenting on speculation that he was targeted due to his Dalit background, and said he would address it if necessary in the future.
Rao was arrested on March 3 at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru after arriving from Dubai. Acting on a tip-off, DRI officials detained her and seized gold bars weighing 14.2 kg and valued at over Rs 12.56 crore.
Ranya and co-accused Tarun Kondaru Raju were granted bail on Tuesday by a special court for Economic Offences in Bengaluru in connection with the gold smuggling case.
The court approved their default bail applications after the DRI failed to file a chargesheet within the stipulated period.
Ranya, however, will continue to remain behind bars.
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Ordinance issued to increase number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38
New Delhi (PTI): The government has promulgated an ordinance to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38, including the Chief Justice of India.
The law ministry notified the ordinance on Saturday, which amended the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, to increase the sanctioned strength of the top court.
So far, the sanctioned strength of the top court was 34, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Now, the number of judges has been increased by four, taking the sanctioned strength to 38.
The top court will now have 37 judges, other than the CJI.
With the apex court having two vacancies at present, and the ordinance coming into force immediately, the Supreme Court Collegium will now have to recommend six names for appointment as judges in the top court.
A bill will be brought in the Monsoon Session of Parliament to convert the ordinance – an executive order – into a law passed by Parliament.
The Union Cabinet had cleared a draft bill on May 5 to increase the number of apex court judges.
The strength of the Supreme Court was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the CJI) in 2019.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.
This number was increased to 13 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges), Amendment Act, 1960, and to 17 by another amendment to the law.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1986, augmented the strength of judges from 17 to 25, excluding the CJI.
A fresh amendment in 2009 further increased the strength from 25 to 30.
Article 124(3) of the Constitution lists the qualifications required to become a Supreme Court judge.
An Indian citizen who has either served as a high court judge for at least five years, or as an advocate for 10 years, or is a distinguished jurist, can be appointed to the top court.
The strength of the Supreme Court is increased based on the recommendations of the CJI, who writes to the Union law minister. After consulting the finance ministry, the Department of Justice under the law ministry moves the Cabinet with a draft bill.
